Boston Family Office LLC Increases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Boston Family Office LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,681 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Boston Family Office LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Wealth Services raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the second quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 13,616 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,479,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 16,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,718,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 15,799 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,640,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,920,107,000 after purchasing an additional 711,560 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,638 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $20,430,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on COST. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,025.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $912.90 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $871.71 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $404.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.13, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $922.57 and its 200 day moving average is $958.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.56%.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.